How to Protect Yourself from Unemployment Discrimination

It seems that those who are diligently searching for a new job, will find yet another obstacle standing in their way. According to recent news reports, employers and now starting to discriminate against the unemployed. It seems that in several states the longer you have been unemployed, the less likely a company may be to hire you. So how can you overcome this hurdle? Regardless of where you live

there are several things that you can do to make sure this does not happen to you.

Screen the agencies

If you are planning on going through an employment agency in order to find work, you will want to make sure that they have a fair hiring process. You will want to make sure that any agency you go to focuses just on your qualifications, and not how long you have been out of work. This can be difficult to do at first, but asking around about the company and checking with the better business website to see if they have any complaints would be worth the effort.

Keep your skills sharp

One of the reasons that I have recently heard as to why more employers are doing this is for fear of the loss of skills. Some think that when a person has been out of work for more than a year, their skills may become outdated, or they may slow down. Remember the saying that if you don't use it, you end up losing it, so they say. Just because you are not working this does not mean that you should sit around doing nothing. Instead why not keep yourself busy by volunteering for certain companies, and organizations. This is something that you can add to your resume to show that you are still working and keeping your skills sharp. It's not like you really have anything to lose since you are not working anyway.

Be willing to start over

When a person has been out of work for an extended period of time, you have to be willing to start over to get your foot back in the door. This may mean taking a pay cut, and less benefits. Being willing to start at the bottom of a company, will help to get your foot back in the door. Over time you can learn how the company operates and work your way back up. If you are willing to take any job that is offered to you, this will make you more desirable to potential employers.

Downsize your resume

You may also want to consider downsizing your resume a bit. If you have worked a lot of jobs over the course of the year only list the most recent three on the resume. Highlight your skills on your resume, and be willing to talk your skills up. A one page resume is really all that you need.

All about what you say

In some instances you can jeopardize your chances of getting hired simply, by talking too much about how long you have been unemployed. If the first thing you say is that you have been on lots of interviews this week, but can't find anything, the employer may look at your resume differently. Focus on the job you are applying for, and your qualifications. They can tell how long you have been out of work just by looking at your resume, so don't blow it by talking about your unemployment status too much.